BACK ISSUE COMICS TO FIND
By Alex Ness
October 23, 2022
WELCOME
Another somewhat brief entry for me here, and like the others of this month, comic books again. These are books that I think are well worth pursuing the issues of or the various collections. The reason isn't for not having been popular when first released, some were that, but the purpose I attempt to fulfill is to drive readers to reading good and entertaining works. Some of these have been forgotten, others revered and well remembered, but most didn't find an audience they deserved.
9 Series to Find, Buy and Read
From Avatar Press
Joe R. Lansdale
Timothy Truman adaptation and art
I admire the talents of Timothy Truman, his pencils are among my favorites, and I have enjoyed his writing as well. It is true that I consider him to be a friend, but I thought this all prior to knowing him. I did not, strange to say, love this work initially. I liked the art a lot, and while I was less moved by the writing, I realized it wasn't the writer but me the reader who had issues. It is adapted from a story by Joe R. Lansdale, who I like the work of, and like him. But I notice a difference in how Tim adapted this, compared to the words he writes when he does his own works. I know, it is the sign of a geek that he knows the fingerprints of the creative talent that he admires. So, when I reread the work, I tried to just take it for what it was, and what it is is a dark, violent work, featuring a mad scientist, zombies and a lone wolf mercenary or bounty hunter who finds himself in the clutches of people who use sex and violence to conquer, but then use mad science to make them zombie servants. It runs swiftly, and is told clearly and with some of the greatest art I've seen from Timothy Truman.
Mister X
Published by Vortex, Calibur and Dark Horse Comics
Written by Dean Motter, The Hernandez Bros
Art by Hernandez Bros, Klaus Schoenefeld, Seth and many more.
The idea of sleep being the backdrop of the city and the realm of sleep being the ultimate reason for everything in the story, make this a work that thrives in the realm of metaphor. From an artistic perspective, there can be enormous worth in the areas of story telling and image. But from a personal story, sleep is something we do, some for as much as 40-50% of their life, for me the attempts to sleep and failure, make the concepts here to be poignant in ways I suspect others might miss. From February 2019 to October 2021, I averaged less than 4 hours of sleep each night. I had such pain as to make a night of full sleep, and enough depth of sleep to dream, almost impossible. That situation makes the exploration of the realm of sleep particularly powerful for me. I especially have enjoyed the writing and works of Dean Motter, and this was the first work of his I discovered. I've long since gone away from review grades, but this is a perfect 10 for me.
From Humanoids Publishing
Writer: Xavier Dorison
Artist: Christopher Bec
This isn't going to be easy to find, nor is it going to be cheap. But it was a series that I cannot believe wasn't a hot fire of sales and popularity. The art is great, the writing a little tin eared in dialogue, but the concept of a US submarine discovering lost ruins and ongoing dark sorcery/magic made the work well worth the read. It had the scent of Cthulhu about it, and that mystery and uncommon sort of story, made me hunger for much more of it. If you see it, buy it.
Eagle
Published by Crystal, Apple Comics
Writer Jack Herman
Artist: Neil D. Vokes
Eagle was a comic that mixed some genre areas, and told stories that were good but different and rather unconventional. Presented in some ways as a ninja story, Eagle is actually quite different than ninja related, being a modern day samurai. The concept is rather nicely done, and it enters new story telling ground, with art that is not anime or manga inspired, but really high quality line work and fantastic story telling through the art. I'd not argue that the story is new, but it is quite enjoyable.
Gene Day's Black Zeppelin
From Renegade Press
Writer/Artist: Gene Day
Gene Day was a highly talented artist. He seemed to be a bright man, who wrote as often as he illustrated. This series is made up of short stories and imagery, all done prior to his being "discovered" by Marvel Comics and his death in 1982. The quality of each story or chapter is good, but, while I appreciated this series, it felt a lot like it was Dixie Cup of water, when you were so thirsty a fire hose wouldn't have done the job. That is, it had great art, intriguing concepts, nicely done writing, but as a whole it didn't satisfy. However, I read five issues (I don't know if there are more), and enjoyed those, and would have bought more.
Alien Fire
Kitchen Sink Press
Writers Anthony Smith & Erik Vincent
Artist: Eric Vincent
Way back I used to read the comic book newspaper the CBG or Comic Buyer's Guide. In it I seemed to repeatedly see an ad for Alien Fire from Kitchen Sink. It suggested that the work was a pure aim at science fiction, with a deeper story to tell from those origins. The work is reminiscent of the best 1950s SciFi alien attacks or horror from the intruder aliens. But I do not think it worked as a science true story. The covers were good, the story interesting, and the art was fantastic, but I'd suggest buying it to read it, whatever your genre preference. I say that because I think it is good, just not what I was told it would be when I was finished reading it.
Streetfighter (Or Street Fighter, it varies throughout.)
From Ocean Comics
Writer Ron Fortier
Artist: Gary Kato
This might sound like it is a criticism via feint praise, but that isn't my intent, at all. But as a younger man I found the art to be entirely too close to mimicking or aping the art style of Steve Ditko. But in the present, as an older man, I recognized homage and the artist's style rather than pure mimicry or direct swipe. So having got that out of the way, Gary Kato's art tells action with ease and clarity. The concept is good enough, as in I found it interesting, but perhaps, for the comic book world not altogether new. The story follows an agent who fights crime, and seems to be an expert in martial arts, courageous and is linked in through electronics to the headquarters who possess electronic means to trace, track, and guide the Streetfighter to take out organized crime, their criminal gangs, and the leaders of such. Ron Fortier knows how to write, whatever else you want to say, it is a pleasure reading his words/stories. Now, with all that said, I could understand people not digging it, as it feels like a superhero story, without a 'superhero' lead character. But there is a uniform/ costume, great amounts of action, and quality writing.
Icarus
Writer: Don Lanouette
Artist: Dave Cooper
As I mentioned in a previous article here, Icarus and his father Daedalus are mythic characters whom I am drawn towards. In this case, a spacefaring ship is attacked by pirates, and the Icarus, a ship of heroes and in general, good guys comes to the rescue. But the battle leads to casualties and loss. The series then follows how one event leads to the discovery of a much more dangerous possibility. I found the art of less quality than the writing, but for the money, I thought this was quite fun.
Lost Continent
From Eclipse Comics
Writer: Akihiro Yamada; Alan Gleason & Toren Smith (translation)
Artists: Akihiro Yamada; Tom Orzechowski
During the 1980s, in the US comic market the works of Japanese creative talents were celebrated and generally appreciated, popular, and were sought out. But that did not mean all fans like those works or felt able to appreciate them. People might not understand the conventions of the Japanese format/style and were thus limited in how to approach the works. Lost Continent seemed to be an attempt to change how a comic from Japan would be sold, would appear, and what impact it might have when on the comic book shop shelf. It is reminiscent in title and in theme to certain works by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the comic series is good. I will say, I have suspicions that there was a concerted effort, by edits, by art manipulation, and dialogue translation changes, that this was changed for western audiences. As such, a variety of pages seem or feel unfinished, other scenes are odd, as if there was a change that affected the ultimate impact of the work. I again say, though, that I did enjoy this. Perhaps it wasn't perfect, and that it had unnecessary changes for the audience it was being sold to, but it had a certain flavor that was unique and good, it told a story that was interesting, and it felt like the money spent was well worth it.
About Getting Reviews from Me
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